5.09.2012

This College Town

I see movement,
living in this college town
People coming home, going,
people trying to get out
We’re all here to go somewhere else,
persevering the present to propel our futures
Ubiquitous buses roar across town,
filling the silence of day,
protruding the silence of night
Silence is such a profound sound

Living in a college town,
introductions go amiss
First impressions are so very valuable in this land of strangers
Silence is such a profound sound,
especially when it follows such a simple question
“What’s your name again?”
“. . . uhm . . .
. . . uhm . . .
. . . . . . . . . .”

Living in a college town,
I don’t feel the same
when I can’t even say my own name
It’s easy to lose yourself in the campus crowds
Straight A’s fail to sway my dismay
Success will never be
enough to make up for the faults
These are the words of a pessimistic perfectionist
These are the words of a stuttering perfectionist

Today, though, as I look out the bay windows,
I realize all the negativity is just me
You find out a lot about yourself – through success, through failure –
living in this college town
Here, you have to get on a bus to go anywhere,
and you have to step outside
your comfort zone to hitch a ride
I will reach my destination
When I do, I won’t need to say my name –
everyone who I want to know will already know it

When you feel as if you’ve lost your way,
press replay, because you’ve done it all before
And you can do it again
Listen to the voice within
Learn from who you’ve been
Fight hard for who you want to become
This starts for me right here, right now,
in this college town 

15 comments:

  1. Sometimes, it is your weakness that will become your strength. I guess it is what we make it. Your poem is beautiful and unique, just like your mind.

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  2. college is an easy place to lose yourself, or a college town...most of the population being transient, comes and goes and relationships just as quick...i will say though that they were some amazing years of my life and i learned a lot...and not necessarily in the class room...

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  3. Lots of little nuggets of hard won wisdom--especially like the last stanza, and the use of themes you've worked in all through, the name motif, the buses, and so forth. You bring not just the town to life here.

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  4. We’re all here to go somewhere else...and then that part with the silence...nice..college time is a time of transition, of orientation, of finding oneself and where to go...not always easy...you captured it well alex

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  5. So hard to become who you are meant to be and not lose your voice or, yourself in the swamp. But, for all it's failings this has little nuggets of hope and wisdom in it and a positive attitude at the end.
    A good read, thanks!

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  6. "step outside your comfort zone" this says it all, cuz when ur in college, you set up an environment around you, ur friends, where you eat, if you play sports, even ur schedule, and moving out of it is scary, and daunting. but think about it, that's how most people structure their adults lives anyway



    haiku and senryu about annoyances

    verification makes it really hard to comment. you'd get more comments if you turned it off. i had to do this several times to get it to work.

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    Replies
    1. I wasn't aware of the verification issue, thank you. How do you turn it off?

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    2. To turn off your verification, go to your dashboard on blogger, click on SETTINGS which will present you with a drop down menu, click on "POSTS AND COMMENTS". Under SHOW WORD VERIFICATION, click NO.

      Liked your poem. University and poetry seem inextricably linked to me. College was about linking words, study, thought, and experience and the environment figured in seamlessly. I can't think of the time without thinking of the place. This resonates throughout your piece.

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    3. Just turned verification off, thank you!

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  7. AH! College daze. I loved/hated them. Reasons too lengthy for comment--even by me--grin!

    500 years from now, one who reads this will have a general idea about scholastic living in our century. They will have to look up the word "bus".

    And Alex, Silence IS quite a prominent sound Lay down in a field and listen--the quiet can be deafening. Meditation can be thus.
    PEACE, Sir.

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  8. PS. Commenting will be a lot more fun when you follow Beachanny's 'tutorial' on disabling Word Verification--it really is unnecessary, you know!

    I like it here, as do others!
    thanks.

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  9. Living in a college town, you describe the temporary nature perfectly. Well-written, and incredibly fluent.

    http://halfwaybetweenthegutter.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/my-oldest-enemy/

    For those struggling with verification, I've found the only way to comment is through the name/website option. It really is frustrating.

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  10. I agree with earlier comments, some real wisdom in here which proves that you don't need decades and decades under your belt to have a lived in soul. Nice job.

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  11. Kiddo - my college days were long, long ago, but my I can't remember coming up with stuff like this! I loved these lines:

    'These are the words of a pessimistic perfectionist
    These are the words of a stuttering perfectionist'

    It is a scary and unsure place college - especially if it's in a strange town. This was nicely scripted.

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